Ten Thousand Embers
by barefoot contessa
Summary: friends, ennemies, good, evil, loyalty, betrayal, love, hate, magic, mystery...and of course, a little adventure. would you expect anything less? [preciously titled alius]
1. Default Chapter

_Author's note: Enjoy, and please send me feedback. Thanks for reading! and without further ado..._

_PROLOGUE..._

It was in the last hour of the last moon of the second year that the system finally failed.

The captive escaped into the night in that last hour, when vigilance had lifted, when the end was in sight.

For two years, Dumbledore had managed to control that which was uncontrollable, that which was beyond the reaches of reason. For the first time, his faith had betrayed him.

The undeniable truth was that the captive's eventual escape had been inevitable, despite keen foresight and the best of intentions. He had known this. He had known that precaution could not always guard against the macabre dances of fate and chance.

Yet he had hoped. A fool's hope, perhaps. A man's hope, flawed by mortality, distorted by sentiment, blinded by resolve.

How he would berate himself later! Not out of regret for his actions- no, he was still convinced he had acted rightly, though many would disagree - but for obtusely hoping against his own better judgment that nothing of this nature would occur.

And for not being prepared when it did.

* * *

He prowled, low to the ground, hunching in darkness, slinking through shadows. An icy wind, unusually cold for a night in June, rippled the ground before him, heavy paws pounding the cold earth, breath coming in frozen puffs of heavy steam. Glowing amber eyes searched the darkness for whispers and concealment. 

In his mind, there was no malice. He did not hunt out of greed or out of spite. His mind was blissfully blank, impulse his only guide. Freedom thrilled him and the fingers of moonlight on his back made him shiver with pleasure.

On instinct, he raised himself to the sky. The giant silver orb filled his vision, filled his soul and his mind. It dominated his body completely, beyond thought, beyond reason.

He raised himself higher, and let out a wild, wailing cry in tribute to his master, echoing against the earth itself and the walls of the sky.

He was the fugitive. He was the hunter.

* * *

A small dark shape flitted across the rolling open grounds from the castle, silhouetted against the silver-tinged grass of the small knolls and smooth slopes. 

Wrapped in a black cloak, the girl could have been no older than twelve, small and pale for her age. She walked quickly and silently, each light step bringing her closer to the shores of the lake. Her breaths were quick and short, her eyes alert, searching dark shores for anything that might intrude on her solitude.

She was not afraid of the shadows or the darkness, the vastness of this empty landscape. She reveled in her own insignificance in proportion to the trees, the sky, and the huge moon that filled it.

It was freeing, to put her life back into perspective. The emptiness of the night reminded her of the boundlessness of her possibilities.

This was why she took these walks alone: without being able to put it into words, the night freed her from herself, something she couldn't do constantly surrounded by people. It was her chance to be introverted without constantly having to be called back from her thoughts through the intrusion of others.

The lake was a placid, elliptical basin, its shining surface betraying nothing of its turbid depths. The frosted blue-grey surface reflected the night sky like a mirror, as if the sky was drowning in watery depths, rippled by the occasional chilled breeze.

The girl sat on the lakes' shore, idly picking up the smooth, spherical pebbles that covered the beach. She absently rolled them in her hands, dropped them through her fingers, wetted them in the lake so that they glistened like jewels. Then, one by one, she would release them in a high arc over the reflective water. They broke the lakes surface, producing minuscule geometric ripples, before drifted down and out of sight.

She lightly hummed a fragment of some half-forgotten melody, simple, wistful and wild in its harmonies. A ballad, she remembered, though the details eluded her memory. The lilting music spoke of love and death, loneliness and regret…war and peace, honor and vice…of exquisite beauty.

Her mouth, blood-red from the cold, curled up slightly as she smiled to herself: those were the stories she loved best. The notes were swiftly wicked from her lips by the wind and carried off, up into the clouds to mix with the particles of rain and then precipitate soft euphonies down onto the world.

Unexpectedly, she heard a cry echo through the vacant landscape coming from the Forest to her left, the reverberating sound jarring with her musings. A few winged shapes lifted off the top of the trees, starting upwards before gliding gracefully out of sight. The cry echoed off the water and the stone walls of the castle.

It was not the call of some creature of conscience. No, it was the call of something wild and untamed, something primitive. She was unnerved, suddenly conscious of the cold, of the steely quality of the water before her.

Mostly, however, she was conscious of the sepulchral silence of that had fallen over the entire landscape. She shivered and shrugged her shoulders in an attempt to hunch deeper into the folds of her cloak while shaking off the feeling of apprehension that was creeping up her spine.

The silence stretched on as she crouched, immobile, straining her senses, reaching out through the darkness for some form of desperate certainty.

But as each moment languished on, doubt began to eat away at her certainty and her guard began to slip. Her reason began to overpower her initial foreboding, arguing against her alarm. She had nearly convinced herself of her own absurdity and paranoia.

Slowly, the tension in her body began to relax and her thoughts to wander. With the forgetfulness of an innocent mind, she quickly forgot her momentary fear.

But then she heard it. Soft, but distinct: the muffled thud of heavy steps coming from the underbrush behind her. Instinctively, she froze, only conscious of her heart knocking against her ribs.

She could feel eyes on her back, boring holes through her. Her breath caught, and she was sure whatever it was that was following her could smell the fear that was emanating from her entire body.

Still, she did not move, and for a long stretch of time after, time that was frozen as still as the night. Soon, the silence began to play with her mind again: was it still there, behind her? If yes, why hadn't it emerged yet? Had she imagined it again, foolishly jumping at every little stir?

Curiosity was also beginning to come into play, the initial shock of fear having abated slightly. Unconsciously, she flicked her eyes over her shoulder, causing her head to move at the same time as a gust of wind caught her hood and blew it off.

Bright red hair exploded from under the muted drapery, swirling and fanning in the wind. Within the same instant, she started up in fear and something dark propelled itself on her from the behind.

Snarls and growls met desperate screams. In the second it took for both figures to tumble backwards, claws and teeth shredded heavy cloth, scratching and pulling, only to be repelled by frantic kicks and outflung arms and hands, reaching desperately for anything; reaching for salvation and finding none.

But in the moment that they landed, the beast on top of the girl, emerald green eyes met mad, amber colored ones. They locked, and for a fraction of a second there was a pause.

And in the back of the amber eyes, the girl saw something flickering there she didn't understand. She had seen it before, but not here, not like this…this was the wrong context, it couldn't possibly be…

"Remus?"

The word escaped her lips and hung in the silence. A second later, there was a bloody gash across her left cheek, left by an enormous claw and a vicious snarl told her the wait was over.

The beast reared at the same time as her fingers closed on a stone. She struck its' head with the stone as a heavy paw came down on her own.

In themoment before the second darkness, she saw the sun break over the horizon.

* * *

The small unconscious bodies of Lily Evans and Remus Lupin were found by the lakeshore an hour later. One look told Dumbledore everything he needed to know. 

_Author's note: more to come, hopefully soon but it may take awhile. Please keep checking for an update. Also, please let me know what you thought, did it make sense, was it engaging etc.? I hope to hear from you soon!_


	2. one

_Author's note: and so the action begins…please, PLEASE send me feedback as it will only make the story better…also, I realize I forgot the disclaimer on the prologue, but I figure these things are pretty much understood… enjoy!_

**_one: in which the beginning is begun_**

The chandelier swung dangerously as the train swerved at an acute angle along the tracks. The tinkle of the crystals combined with the regular thumps of the car wheels and the whirring of the engine to create an unusual and slightly disconcerting cacophony.

That, combined with the slamming of carriage doors, the patter of feet, the thump of falling luggage and the shrieks of laughter echoing along the corridor, was the excuse Lily Evans gave herself for not studying on the long ride to the castle. To pass the time, she had engaged herself in the worthy task of eating her way steadily through Remus' stash of sweets. She then pasted each of the cellophane wrappers to the compartment window using her wand, creating a brilliant mosaic through which the sun shone. Thousands of jewel-colored lights danced and flickered across the floor and walls of the Prefect's car as the train bumped along towards Hogwarts, leaning precariously at each turn.

Her friend, Remus Lupin, was sprawled over the seat across from her, flipping through the Prefect's Manual, an amused grin playing about his lips. He was a tall, slightly lanky boy of sixteen, pale and slim without being awkward. His sandy hair was slightly unkempt and slightly too long, so that some bits stuck up or out irregularly, the shade at odds with his dark eyebrows, lending his face a brooding, almost fierce, quality. His light amber eyes, with their unusually large pupils, flickered across the page with interest, although Lily noted with slight alarm how dark the circles, perpetually present under his eyes, had become in the two months since she'd last seen him. She knew better than to comment, however.

"According to our handy manual," Remus said interestedly, his face hidden by his book, "there are 367 ways a Prefect can tie their tie incorrectly, all of which were documented by the caretaker in 1851."

"Really?" Lily replied, distractedly pasting an orange toffee wrapper to her growing oeuvre. " And are they actually listed, or are we referred to another source if we wish to discover the details to that fascinating anecdote of academia?"

"It doesn't say, but I have no doubt that said documents can be procured. In fact, I will find them first thing once we can get into the library, for your reading pleasure, or course," he said, laughing as he tossed the manual back on top of his trunk.

Lily rolled her eyes before popping a caramel into her mouth, sizing up the best location for a blue wrapper. Apparently she hadn't lost any of her cynicism over the summer, Remus noted. "What, no summer flings to change your mind?" he asked, voicing his thoughts aloud and without preamble.

Slightly surprised, Lily cocked her head to one side, pausing for a moment to search for a suitably biting reply. "Unfortunately, I ate all those that approached me before I could stop myself," she joked, the corners of her lips twitching as she fought not to laugh, sarcasm dripping from every word. "Of which there were many, of course. I have a nice little bone closet at home, actually, which has a 'welcome' mat before the door and which I decorate with doilies."

"It's funny how you can be so quaint and twisted at the same time," he replied lightly, riffling through his bag in search of his prefect badge. A painful jab to his thumb, accompanied by a loud oath, proclaimed its' retrieval.

"Serves you right." Lily frowned at the window, perturbed by the concentration of green wrappers in the lower left-hand corner. The composition was unbalanced, but it seemed too annoying to take down and redo the entire section now. "And you, Moony?" She called him by their old nickname. "How did you fair in the unpredictable realm of love?"

"I was staying with James for the summer," Remus replied, noting the slight hardening of Lily's jaw at the mention of James Potter. "Hardly the setting for romance."

"No, I suppose not," she said acidly. "I'm sure Potter required all your care and attention at all times. Goodness knows what would happen if he had to share anything."

Remus smiled to himself as Lily stared haughtily in the other direction. In a certain way, it was comforting to know that some things never changed. "Do I detect some bitterness, coming from perfect Prefect Lily? Surely not, surely I imagine it only!" he taunted her quietly, flicking fallen candy wrappers at a scowling Lily. " Perhaps she could be referring to the sharing of things such as the spotlight? Or perhaps she was referring more specifically to the Quidditch captaincy?"

Lily stared daggers at him, trying to wipe that patronizing grin off his ridiculous face. Remus may have been her closest friend, ever since the shared secret ofa certainunfortunate incident back in their second year, but that didn't mean he didn't abuse his perceptiveness in order to spark her already incendiary temper.

"I have no idea what it is you speak of, O Moony the Wise…-Arse," she added triumphantly. "I…"

She was interrupted by the carriage door slamming open, to reveal Sirius Black, clad in all his Hogwarts finery and brandishing his wand like a rapier for no apparent reason.

"I have had a revelation," he announced grandly, promptly seating himself on Lily's lap and giving her a smacking kiss on the forehead as she attempted to bat him away with a History of Magic textbook, having dropped her wand in surprise at his assault. "Why look, it's my favorite flower and Chaser! I'm assuming your look of outrage springs from your anger towards evil Fate, who separated you from me for a whole two months."

"Sirius, _darrrling_," she exclaimed, purposely over-rolling the Rs as her left hand searched the floor, only the sparks in her eyes betraying her tone. "I can't tell you how _thrilled _I am that, after a full two months absence, you choose so charitably to plant your fat arse on me." She paused, her fingers finally grasping the object of her search. " And now that I have found my wand," she continued calmly, "kindly get off me before I hex you into oblivion, starting with your behind."

"I'm afraid she's serious," commented a mirthful Remus. "No pun intended, or course," he added, eyeing his friends with amusement

Unruffled, Sirius swaggered nonchalantly across the car and settled himself on a pillow that had fallen to the floor. "Now, Lily," he said kindly, "a perfect Prefect in you position - pause everyone, to admire my alliteration- cannot afford to have temper like that. What, pray tell, would your superiors say? In a moment of anger, you must have broken twenty rules…"

"Twenty-two, actually," Remus deadpanned. "By the way, Sirius, what was your revelation?"

"Forgotten and irrelevant," Sirius replied dissmisively, delicately pulling a candy wrapper off his pants. His action jostled his coat pocket, causing the top of a small silver flask to peak out.

"Sirius, have you been drinking again?" Remus asked sharply.

"No, of course not."

"Sirius, we're _on_ the _school train_!" Lily stated exasperatedly. "_And_ we're _Prefects_!"

Sirius grinned roguishly, the smile he always wore when cornered. "Only a nip, my friends, only a nip, not to worry. Ease up on the _italics_, Lily. You're making me nauseous."

"And I'm sure that nausea has nothing to do with the contents of your flagon there. Well, this has been _delightful_," she said as she unfolded her legs and stepped nimbly toward the compartment door. "I had almost forgotten the joys of living with you lot, but now-"

As she reached for the door handle, it slid smoothly open, revealing none other than James Potter, about to step in but now standing tensely in the doorframe. He too was already in his school uniform, his shoes scuffed, his shirt untucked and wrinkled, his tie flung carelessly around his neck, not yet tied. His appearance made quite a contrast when compared with Sirius' immaculately polished, ironed and starched ensemble.

His carelessness irritated Lily beyond measure. It was part of his whole personae of confidence bordering on arrogance, and it infuriated her.

"Potter," she said shortly by way of greeting, without moving to let him pass.

He eyed her questioningly, eyebrow raised, as he surveyed the eclectic combination of school kilt, muggle T-shirt (emblazoned with something called "Rolling Stones") under her grey uniform cardigan with the Gryffindor Crest adorning the breast pocket. He noted with particular satisfaction that her socks were of two different colors.

"Evans," he said tersely, stepping to one side with an exaggerated swagger to allow her to pass.

"It's amazing Potter," she hissed as she slipped by him, "how your hair appears wind-blown even though you haven't even stepped onto the pitch yet. If one didn't know better, they might think you actually spent time in front of a mirror styling it like that on purpose."

"So sorry, Evans, that my grooming offends you. However, a lesser person might interpret your spite for jealousy. A little bird informed me of your aspirations to be the next Quidditch captain…"

"Don't flatter yourself, Potter. I'm sure there was a tiny pang somewhere in there when you failed to be chosen for a prefect…for the second year in a row." With that, Lily spun on her heel and traipsed lightly off.

"She is _insufferable_," James snarled, slamming the compartment doors closed slightly harder than was necessary. He swept a pile of candy wrappers off a seat before plopping himself down, ignoring Sirius' wildly rolling eyes and Remus' sigh of resignation. "Who ate all of this garbage, anyway? Never mind, let me guess..."

For a few minutes, they sat in silence, James chewing his lip and glancing around the compartment.

"Yeah, the Prefects' car is definitely a step up from the normal ones," observed Sirius, having followed James' stare.

"Jesus! What happened to the window?" James exclaimed, ignoring his friend's comment. Then… "There's too much green in the lower left-hand corner."

_A/N: more to come…when? Only time will tell…I hate to be predictable, it ruins the enigma…R&R, please._


End file.
